


I've Been Sleepwalking (Too Close to the Fire)

by Inky_Blackheart



Category: Green Lantern - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Closure, Emotional Constipation, Enemies to Lovers, First Kiss, Love Confessions, M/M, Snark, Stranded
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-23 08:57:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23275561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inky_Blackheart/pseuds/Inky_Blackheart
Summary: Stranded in space after being separated from his friends during a mission gone wrong with no hope of rescue, Hal decides to try to get a little closure via therapeutic constructs, including one of his oldest frenemy, Thaal Sinestro.
Relationships: Hal Jordan/Thaal Sinestro
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	I've Been Sleepwalking (Too Close to the Fire)

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from "Burning House" by the artist Cam.

_It’s all over,_ Hal thinks. _This time, it’s really all over_.

The multiverse is in shambles. The Justice League has been thrown to all corners of the universe through Darkseid’s portals, and his ring’s power is starting to dip. Hal stands slowly, each muscle protesting as he lifts his broken body up, and looks at the stars. He doesn’t recognize them. His ring says that he is on the outer rim of Guardian territory, but can’t tell him much more than that. He can’t see Clark, or John, or anyone. His ring picks up no signs of life within range, and therefore no water. It finally hits Hal: he is going to die here.

Hal walks back over to the cave he landed in, safe-ish from the space rocks in this debris field. The little asteroid he landed on is one of many like it. He always wanted to die on Earth, selfish as it is. He looks out once again. He can see nebulas and galaxies and so many stars. Of all the places to die, this one isn’t the worst.

Hal leans back against the rocky walls of the cave, resting his head against the rough surface. He might as well rest, he thinks. _Heh, Carol always told me I needed a vacation, some alone time. Careful what you wish for_.

His stomach growls, signalling the beginning of the end. He wants to let go. He needs to let go.

#

His ring still has a lot of charge. That’s the irony of the situation: unlimited ability to fly, nowhere to go. So Hal sits. He staves off the loneliness, he finds closure.

“We were never going to work,” Construct Carol says. “You know that.”

“I know, but I wanted it to.”

“You can’t always get what you want. You have to work for it. Problem is, you were never willing to put in the time.”

“I had the universe to save. But,” Hal sighs, “that’s no excuse. I’m sorry, Carol. I hope that you can move on and find someone you deserve. I love you. I hope you know that.”

“I know.” Construct Carol kisses his cheek. “I love you too.”

#

“You know,” Construct Bruce says, “I never hated you.”

“I don’t believe you.” Hal looks up at him, pacing the cave the way Hal imagines Bruce paces in his own. “You never had a shred of respect for me. I know you thought I was an irresponsible jack-ass.”

“Irresponsible, yes. Jackass, no.” Construct Bruce stops and pulls down the cowl. The mask may be the real face of the Batman, but he wants to be able to look Construct Bruce in the eye for this. “You’re my opposite, Jordan. I live off fear, you live without it.”

“Yeah, but we both want the same thing. Shouldn’t that be enough?”

“What do you want, Jordan?” The cowl goes back on. “Because I can’t tell if you have a death wish or you’re selfless. Why exactly do you save people, Hal?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do. And I can have both.”

“Having a death wish isn’t selfless. You leave your family and friends behind to pick up the pieces.”

“You’re one to talk.” Hal scoffs.

“You’ll leave me with a lot of pieces to pick up. Remember that.” Construct Bruce says before disappearing. For the first time since realizing that his death was inevitable, Hal cried.

#

Construct Sinestro threw a rock at him. Hal winces. “Good. You’re paying attention.”

“Why am I doing this?” Hal groans, face falling into his hands. “I must hate myself. That’s the only explanation.”

“You want closure, Jordan.” Construct Sinestro sits on a nearby rock. “I could care less.”

“Of course you do. You’ve never cared about me at all, have you?”

“Do you honestly believe that?” Construct Sinestro quirks an eyebrow.

“No,” Hal admits. “I think you did. Care about me, that is. And that’s why you hate me so much now.”

“How very astute, _Harold_.” Construct Sinestro mocks. “But, despite my alleged hatred for you, I’ve come to your rescue time and time again. When you lost everything, it was I who gave you your ring back. Do you know why?”

“Because you’re a smug asshole who wants to rub it in later.” Hal snorts. “Because your favourite thing in the universe isn’t order. It’s being right and getting to say “I told you so”.”

Construct Sinestro doesn’t take the bait. “Because I can’t let you go.”

The sincerity in the tone breaks Hal’s heart. “You already have,” he whispers, hiding from his own construct in his folded arms.

“No. I never will. That’s the tragedy of all this, Jordan. Hal.” The construct corrects itself. It places two fingers under Hal’s chin and tilts it up. “We’ll always be friends.”

“Yeah,” Hal unconsciously licks his lips, “and it sucks.”

Construct Sinestro chuckles. “It certainly does.” It leans down and places a soft kiss on Hal’s parted lips. “And how do you feel about me?”

“I’ve never given up on you. I never will. That sucks more.”

“I think it’s a little deeper than that.” Construct Sinestro says gently, much gentler than real Sinestro would. Real Sinestro would probably choke him until he was almost unconscious, demanding answers that the hands around his throat wouldn’t let him give, and politely ignore the tightness of Hal’s pants. “I know it’s a lot deeper than that.”

“What do you want me to say?” Hal snaps. “I’m going to die here, I’m never going to see you again, and that hurts. I have all this shit I want to say to you rattling around in my head and when I try to get it out I can’t because I know you’ll use it against me, and I hate it when you’re green again because it stings to just look at you and know that you’ve beaten me up and tried to kill me and I want to forgive you so bad, and...”

Construct Sinestro places a finger on his lips to shut him up. “I’m sorry. For everything I’ve done to you.”

Hal meet’s the construct’s hollow green eyes, then looks to the ground. “I want to believe that.” Hal slides along the wall of the cave to the ground, looking up at Construct Sinestro. It’s a view he’s more familiar with than he’d like to admit.

“It doesn’t matter what you believe. Believe it for comfort while you waste away, or refuse to accept it and hold onto your stubborn pride until the end. Either way,” Construct Sinestro stands and looks out at the space beyond the asteroid, “we don’t have long.”

“Will you sit with me, until...” Hal trails off. He doesn’t need to finish his sentence. The construct nods and sits beside him, tentatively wrapping its arm around Hal’s back.

“You know,” Construct Sinestro says, “this is a foolish use of your ring.”

“Shut up, Thaal.” Hal murmurs, resting his head on the thing’s neck. “Just let me die in peace.”

#

Hal wakes to shaking. He wonders if another asteroid hit his, but reminds himself that’s a movie trope and not reality. Still, he tries to open his eyes, slowly regaining awareness but unable to lock onto anything but green. _The construct must be trying to wake me,_ he thinks. _Sweet of it. Nicer than the real thing_.

_Wait...how is it still there? I’ve been unconscious for...god, I’m not even sure._

“Goddamn it Jordan,” he hears, hissed in lightly accented English, “wake up. Please, wake up.”

Hal opens his eyes. If he had enough energy, he’d be shocked to see Sinestro in front of him, trying to wake him by shaking the living hell out of him, but as it stands he wants to go back to sleep. This dream stinks. He wants to try again.

He feels a burn on his cheek. A slap, he registers. “I know you can hear me, Jordan, open your miserable eyes or so help me...”

“What?” Hal rasps, throat dry and painful. “You’ll kill me? You’ve already tried that. You’ll choke me, tie me up, insult me? You’ve already tried that too. Nothing you can do hurts me anymore. Let go of my collar and let me breathe.”

He realizes that it’s not the construct when he is abruptly dropped. He winces and looks up. Thaal Sinestro stands before him in all his green glory, his skin pink, his hair black, and his eyes...Hal can’t quite tell. It’s just his luck that his former mentor has come to his rescue. Again. “What,” Sinestro stares at Hal with wide eyes, “did you just say.”

“The truth. You probably don’t recognize it.”

Sinestro’s lips curl into a snarl. “I could just leave you here to die.”

“Ha. Real shocking, Thaal. I’ve made my peace with dying here. Your threat is empty. They always are.”

Sinestro’s anger twists his face and for a second Hal is sure he’s going to get slapped again. Instead, it twists into something he doesn’t recognize: remorse. “I didn’t know you felt this way.”

“Did you ever ask?” Hal scoffs, slowly rising to his feet. He wobbles, unsteady, and Sinestro catches him. “I didn’t think you cared.”

“I’m here because I care.” Sinestro throws Hal’s arm over his shoulder and starts to walk them over to some sort of craft. “I couldn’t let you die.”

“So you can kill me yourself.” Hal accuses without bite.

“No.” Sinestro says quietly. “Because I couldn’t lose another friend.”

Hal quiets, letting himself be led. At some point he loses consciousness, feeling weightless for just a fraction of a second before he’s cradled to Sinestro’s chest. The alien is warm. Too warm. The energy of the suit burns Hal’s half-frozen skin, and the sensation should not be as grounding as it is. He leans into the heat as he loses awareness, floating halfway between calm and resigned, as his eyes close and he lets sleep take him again.

#

When Hal wakes up he’s on a ship. He knows who it belongs to as soon as his eyes open. Sinestro. No one else he knows keeps anything this clean.

He pulls an IV out of his arm and throws an unexpectedly thick blanket around his shoulders, limping towards what he hopes is the cockpit. The ship is small and it doesn’t take long, which is unfortunate because Hal wanted time to think. He pushes open the door to the bridge and finds Sinestro there, sitting at the controls, staring up at him.

Hal limps in and takes a seat at one of the stations. They stare at each other, brown eyes meeting yellow, until Sinestro clears his throat. “I realize now that I’ve made some mistakes.”

“What, no ‘how are you feeling?’”

“You were well enough to walk here, that is a pointless question.” Sinestro snaps. Hal winces. Sinestro catches himself resorting to an old pattern, looking away. “I realize that I may have hurt you. Emotionally.”

“For someone who draws their power from the emotional spectrum, you’re really, really bad at feelings.” Hal rolls his eyes.

“I. Am. Trying.” Sinestro grinds out, gripping the armrest tighter. “I am trying to explain...no, not explain. I am trying to tell you that I am sorry.”

“Now I know I’m dead.” It seems it’s just as easy for Hal to lapse into those patterns too. “Because there’s no way in hell this is really happening.”

“Would you kindly refrain from the sass until I am finished?” Sinestro’s tone is terse but polite. Hal shuts up. He can’t remember the last time Sinestro asked nicely for something. The man continues. “I never thought of my actions as being emotionally cruel. Necessary to complete my goals, but not overly personal. But I suppose...we’ve always been friends. It’s unreasonable to think that betraying you, insulting you, being purposefully rude and difficult to work with, and intentionally deceptive wouldn’t be damaging.”

 _That’s an understatement,_ Hal thinks. He doesn’t say it. He watches Sinestro carefully. The other man cannot look at him.

“I believe that I was to blame. I have never been good with others. I focus on my goals and my tasks before my loved ones. I never made my feelings clear to you. When I saw you lying in the dirt, unconscious, I realized that under my fear I felt deep regret.”

“Regret? You?” Hal scoffs. He doesn’t know why he provokes Sinestro. The man is his ride home. Perhaps the old patterns are easiest for him, too. “For what? Being a dictator?”

Sinestro looks off into the stars outside his viewscreen. “I do not regret taking over my home planet. I was the heavy hand necessary to bring order to a chaotic and corrupt world. Though I am no longer with them, I do not regret creating the Sinestro corps. The emotional spectrum needs representation of every emotion contained within to be balanced. I regret, more than anything, that you felt that I didn’t hold you in the highest possible esteem and that you didn’t know the depths of how I feel for you.”

“You don’t hate me.” Hal comes to the realization, and can’t help but vocalize it.

"I never did.” Sinestro sighs. “How could I? I have no other friends in this entire miserable universe. Despite everything, I...” He makes a choking sound, resting his hand on his chin. “English is a miserable language.”

“Works okay for me.”

Sinestro ignores him. “I can’t...there’s no adequate translation for what I’m trying to say. Even if you spoke fluent Koragarian, there’s no equivalent for--” Hal is familiar enough with Koragarian to recognize some of the syllables and root words coming out of Sinestro’s mouth, but Hal’s ring can’t translate either. “Let’s try this again. Despite everything, I could not let you go. I could not cut ties.” Hal meets his eyes. He expects deception or even lust, but all he sees is affection. “I thought I was refusing to let you go because I wanted your friendship. But it’s more than that.”

Silence stretches between them. “You saying you like me?” Hal crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow.

Sinestro rolls his eyes. “Yes, Hal, I am saying that I like you. That should be abundantly clear.”

“Admit it. You love me.” He says, mostly teasing, not expecting a response beyond an irritated scoff.

“I do.” Sinestro answers without hesitation. “How do you feel?”

 _Now he asks._ Hal knows the answer and almost doesn’t want to admit it. But almost dying...life is too short. Sinestro deemed it important enough to fly halfway across the universe to rescue his sorry ass, the least he can do is be honest with the guy. “I...I think I love you too.”

“I understand the second-guessing. I would too, in your shoes. But know this, Hal Jordan: I admire you, more than any other being in this universe. I will always come for you. I would rather die than let anything happen to you. I find you intensely physically attractive. And I adore you. The moments today where you were unresponsive and unconscious and I feared you’d never wake again were some of the worst of my life.” Hal notices tears in Sinestro’s eyes. He isn’t sure how he feels about it. His guts feel weird, but his heart feels warm. “I understand if you can never return those feelings. I’ve not done a thing to deserve them. Not for a long time.”

“I’m not good with words like you, Sin.” Hal stands and walks over to the control chair, kneeling down so he is almost at eye level with his ~~(Friend? Enemy? Crush? Lover?)~~ Thaal. “I’ve always found action easier.” He leans forward, pausing to look into Sinestro’s eyes, searching for any proof this is a mistake. He finds only love looking back. He presses their lips together, tentative and chaste at first, reaching out and grabbing Sinestro’s hair to force him to open his mouth and deepen it. When he pulls back, a deep blush has crossed Sinestro’s cheeks. The man is...panting. That’s not what he expected. “Is that clear enough?”

“Yes,” Sinestro says, clearly flustered. “I do believe I know what you’re trying to say.”

“Good, but I can repeat myself if I wasn’t clear.” Hal leans forward until their noses bump.

“Hal,” Sinestro clears his throat, “I know it’s much to ask, but I would like to hear the words. Please.”

Hal’s never seen Sinestro plead before. His wide, nervous yellow eyes and half-open mouth are almost as endearing as his freshly messy hair. He can’t deny this man anything. He doubts he ever could. “I love you.”

Sinestro pulls him into his lap, holding Hal tight enough to bruise. He nuzzles into Hal’s neck, peppering it with kisses. Hal tries to wiggle into a better position, but his former mentor has other plans. “I won’t let you go again, beloved. I cannot live without you. Watching you almost die has made that abundantly clear.”

“What happens now then?” Hal gives up trying to move, allowing Sinestro to manhandle him for the maximum amount of contact. “What are we?”

“We are in love,” Sinestro says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the universe. “And I will not leave your side again. You seem to get into trouble without me.”

“I get into trouble with you.” Hal points out, imagining the looks on the JL’s faces when he returns to Earth, bodily carried by his oldest enemy. He tries not to think about it, but he can’t help it. He’s pretty sure Ollie, Barry and Dinah have a bet going. John is not going to be happy. Guy is probably going to kill him. Not that they have any room to judge. J’onn won’t care if Earth, Mars or Oreo cookies aren’t involved. There’s no use predicting what Bruce will think. Diana might have an aneurysm. Clark will probably find it cute. If he’s still alive. If any of them are still alive.

“The multiverse was restored,” Sinestro answers as if reading his mind. “Your friends are fine. They’re the ones who told me where they thought I could find you.”

“That’s...good.” Hal sighs, letting himself relax.

“They were planning to come to get you, you see. I may have told them that I was going to bring you back. Rudely. And loudly. I believe my words were “none of you will lay a hand on my Hal until I know he’s safe” and “if any of you interfere, I’ll kill all of you”.”

Hal tenses. “You didn’t. Can you drop me back off on the asteroid? I think I’m still ready to die.”

“There will be none of that. If you try, I’ll kill you myself.” Sinestro plays with a lock of Hal’s sweat-slick brown hair. “They were very accommodating. The Batman gave me a prophylactic.”

“Kill me,” Hal groans. “Somebody, please kill me.”

“I’m really surprised you have a sense of shame about any of this. The multiverse is restored. You are no longer in danger of a slow death on an asteroid. You are returning home with someone you love. What is there to be embarrassed about?”

Nothing, when Hal thinks about it. He shrugs. “I guess things are good right now. For now.”

Sinestro cradles Hal’s face in his hands. “I meant it, Jordan. I will never let you go again. I will never leave you again. You are MINE,” he growls, “and you won’t forget it.”

Hal surprises Sinestro with another kiss. If Thaal can let go of the past, so can he. “I’m yours,” he pants against his lover’s lips, “I’m yours.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to dedicate this fic to Koschei_Oakdown for consistently writing excellent Hal/Sinestro fics. :)
> 
> My partner really enjoyed the mental image of Batman giving Sinestro a condom. Just thought I'd share that. 
> 
> I made a few references to some of my favourite comic book Hal/Sinestro moments. If you recognize them, you get a digital gold star from me :) If you're curious about them, feel free to ask!
> 
> I make Hal/Sinestro fanvids on my Youtube channel. If that sounds cool to you, check me out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC97JcI76oZWkH25xm3BHRPQ
> 
> My Tumblr: https://inkyblacc.tumblr.com/


End file.
